The opening of Brewton’s animal shelter is still uncertain after city officials did an assessment on the building last week.
Councilman Dennis Dunaway, who serves on a committee to oversee the implementation of Brewton’s animal control department, said work was still needed to bring the facility into working condition.
“The opening of the facility is still uncertain at this point,” Dunaway said. “It will depend on the work that still needs to be done and how good the weather is to allow us to get the work done.”
Dunaway reported to the council Tuesday that several areas still need to be addressed — including a new roof for the building.
“A roof for the main building is necessary and we are beginning work on that,” Dunaway said. “Of course, we have to have the weather cooperate to complete that part of the process.”
Dunaway said workers already in place have been working to get the facility ready and to brush up on operation procedures for the animal control department as well as animal sheltering services.
“We have been making good progress at the shelter over the last week,” Dunaway said. “There has been a lot of general cleaning and steam cleaning already. We’ve had pest control services in and have ordered counters. We have to make some repairs on the chain link fences and have gotten quotes on acquiring a refrigerator, freezer and washer and dryer.”
Bigger items have also hit the city with additional costs incurred before the shelter can even be opened, Dunaway said.
“We had to have a new heating and air unit installed this week,” Dunaway said. “One of the two units there failed last year, but the weather turned cooler and wasn’t needed at the time. We have already had that replaced. We are also going to need metal roofs on two of the out sheds on the property as well.”
Dunaway said phone service had also been put into place for use at the shelter.
“We have our two ladies that will be working there already equipped with some training manuals to help them refresh their studies,” Dunaway said. “We do plan on sending the workers to some training sessions in mid-2012, probably one at a time.”
In other business, the council:
• Awarded a bid for a new fire truck pumper to E-One Inc., of Ocala, Fla., in the amount of $402,617. City Clerk John Angel said the bid fell within the parameters already in place with financing from BB&T. The agreement with the lending institution will allow the city to postpone the first payment on the loan until Spring 2013, Angel said. Brewton Fire Chief Lawrence Weaver recommended to the city that the bid be awarded to E-One after he had approved the specifications for the pumper to be built for the department.
• Approved resolutions involving standards of conduct, financial record keeping and procurement procedures for an upcoming CDBG Project involving the Alco sewer project for the city.
• Discussed the possible implementation of an iFan app for smart phones to increase social media presence for the city.
• Appointed a committee to review and recommend a salary schedule for councilmen and mayor for the next term of office. Salaries must be in place by early February prior to an election of municipal officials. Serving on the committee will be City Clerk John Angel, Mayor Ted Jennings and Councilmen Frank Cotton and Cary Barton.